R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Find out what it means to me)

The last few weeks Avenue Kids have been learning about respect – respecting themselves, respecting others, and respecting God’s creation. Last week we talked about how God made the world for all of us to enjoy, but how He wants us to take care of His creation and respect it. We read in Genesis where God created man and told him to care for the land.

Genesis 1:27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

We discussed how the world God created for us is exciting and fun, but how sometimes we enjoy using it so much that we forget to treat it gently. Because we love God, we love His creation and we honor it, respect it and care for it the way we were intended to before the fall. The kids shared ideas of ways they could show respect for God’s creation. Here are just a few of the ideas they came up with:

– Recycle – Don’t litter

– Pick up trash – Protect animal habitats

– Plant trees – Turn off lights when you leave a room

– Carpool – Use energy saving products

By taking care of God’s creation we show God that we appreciate the world He made for us. Since the fall, mankind has horded resources and treated creation in a disrespectful and selfish way. The Gospel not only frees us from the hold of sin but it also specifically frees us from the need to put ourselves before all of creation. You see, the Gospel keeps us from disrespecting creation, when we understand our place in God’s redemptive plan.

The holidays are a perfect time to discuss the many things in creation that we have to be thankful for and how belief in Christ makes us able to truly respect that creation. Parents, grandparents and care takers, please take some time to turn your little ones attention to this beautiful world that God has created and discuss how thankful we are to Him for it!